


in a world of our own

by plethola



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, a little dorky but dramatic one-shot, and according to the current canon i think, the very first thing i've ever written for this just kill me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-09 23:03:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16458713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plethola/pseuds/plethola
Summary: mina and chaeyoung have grown apart. just when did their worlds diverge? a concerned member sits with mina and shares some secrets of her own. a fluffy story in two chapters! featuring: motherly advice!





	1. she squirmed!

There was a distance between them. Mina was conscious of it, but as busy as the group's schedule was these days, she didn't have much time to herself to unpack it. But she knew there was something thick in the air, something that the other girls have no doubt already picked up on. Despite only three years of activity, there was a bond among the nine of them that was so strong, it might as well be psychic. And yet... now there was a divide. At some point in the past year, Mina and Chaeyoung became entirely estranged, and as far as Mina knew, neither of them had a clear explanation. She bit her lip.

The sky over Seoul was gray, indifferent to the problems of the busy people below. Mina was coming from a convenience store, a little box full of ramyeon packets in her arms and a preoccupied manager (no doubt working from her phone) in tow. Their feet sounded over shallow puddles. Mina's mind wandered to Swan Lake, how the choreography resembled someone treading carefully on water. She did a mini-production in her trainee years. God, that was so long ago. That was the first time Chaeyoung had ever said anything to her.

Mina shuddered. It surprised her, how cold to her bones she felt when she thought of that girl's voice. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't welcome either. Where did it go wrong?

"Something on your mind, Minari?"

Mina chirped in surprise. "Oh," she said, coming to sit beside the darker skinned girl on the curb in front of their dorms. "Jihyo. What are you doing out here?"

Their manager gave the two of them a look, as if to say "I'm nearby if you need me," then disappeared up the stairs with Mina's groceries. When she was out of earshot, Jihyo spoke.

"To tell the truth, I'm here to talk to you, Mina."

Mina cocked her head to the side. "To me?"

"Yeah," said Jihyo. "I'm here to scold you. You left the stove on before you left. Luckily, Dahyun heard the sound of the water boiling. You haven't done something like this since debut."

"Oh," said Mina. "Oh my god. I'm so, so sorry. Is everyone okay? I feel so bad now, I'm normally not stupid about these things."

"Don't sweat it," said Jihyo. "It's just hot water in a pot. You probably were in such a rush to eat ramyeon, you turned on the heat and forgot about it. It's lucky we have seven other roommates to watch our backs. No one's home now, though, but still. Try not to do it again."

"I'm sorry."

Jihyo puffed the air out of her lungs, forming plumes in the cold. For someone known to have a loud voice, there was a quietness to Jihyo that few were exposed to. Sitting there, the girl was both beautiful and untouchable, not unlike the snow queen she so cooly portrayed in their music video for TT. 

"You're spacing out, Mina," said Jihyo. "Let me know what you're really thinking. I'm all ears."

A beat before Mina spoke. "I was just thinking how we kinda lose ourselves. What I mean is that ever since we became celebrities, we've had to perform in more ways than one, to the point that our own personalities are blurred. Does it ever get to you? Don't you feel like you lose something you can't get back?"

"It's really all about knowing where your strength comes from," said Jihyo. "Now my point of view might be biased, since I've been entertaining people for as long as I can remember, but the way I see it, as long as there are people who support me, I am empowered to be my truest self. People might see me and think I'm trying very hard to be someone I'm not, but they'd only be half right. I try hard to be someone only I can eventually become. I'm finding new parts of me every day, and it's exciting and fresh and all that good stuff. And I'm happy. Isn't it the same for you?"

Mina's heart fluttered when she thought of how strong Jihyo was. It struck her that it was no exagerration that none of the girls could've come as far without her stability. It's true that Mina was happy with herself, despite having doubts about her identity. Sure, the nine of them were continuously overworked, and they are in a situation where there isn't any wiggle room for true personal expression, but the facade was also a part of her identity. In a strange way, all of it was fulfilling and, for the times that it didn't quite click, there were always people there to support them.

"I keep being impressed by you, Jihyo," said Mina, patting the other girl's jacket. "You're right. But..."

"You can't help but feel," said Jihyo, "that you're stuck in a raincloud?"

Mina blinked. It was tricky Korean to decipher, but she got the gist of what Jihyo was trying to say. Jihyo turned to face her, as if responding directly to her thoughts.

"Before we talk more about this," said Jihyo, "Is this about Chaeyoung?"

"Oh, I don't know. Yes. Maybe?" Mina felt the tears pool involuntarily in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm really sensitive to everything today. I must not be eating properly."

Jihyo gently brushed Mina's bangs aside. "Talk to me, Minari."

"We haven't had a real conversation, me and Chaeyoung, since... well. Since last year's promotions, if we're being honest."

"That's concerning. Did anything happen?"

Something definitely happened. 

"Now that I think of it," said Mina. "The confession was probably the beginning of it all."

Jihyo's face flushed. "Confession? Wait, do you know what you're saying, Mina? You're talking about, like... A confession, confession. Between you and...?"

"I-is it that surprising?" Mina sighed. "It wasn't a confession in the traditional sense. Early last year was a really low moment in my life. I had a lot of doubts. I was recovering from that performance in ISAC, you know the one. It triggered a lot of past insecurities, and I didn't truly depend on anyone but myself for a long time. i was in the dark. It was silly, looking back on it, but it was so, so hard for me."

Mina felt Jihyo's hand fold over hers. "I'm listening."

"Chaeyoung was there for me as she always had been in the past," said Mina. "She expressed her support in her quiet, indirect way. I always felt that whenever I was tensed, so was she. The other members supported me, and I love them for it, but Chaeyoung's presence in that time somehow felt more... electric. I didn't realize until later how intoxicated I was with her affection. It wasn't until I got the gold at the next ISAC, that I let loose. It was like I could do anything after that, I was on Cloud 9. And, well... I got a little greedy."

Mina audibly stalled the conversation, coughing a little. "Go on," said Jihyo. "I won't judge you."

"I... Okay. I got a little touchy-feely with Chaeng. She was talking to me about how nervous she was watching me, how well I did, all the parts she was proud of me for nailing. It made me giddy. God, I sound like a dork saying this, but I was in paradise. So we got cuddly and touchy, and Chaeyoung responded to my advances, and it was really soft, and. Ugh."

"I knew that much," said Jihyo, thinking about all the fancams for that particular ISAC. "So I'm not too surprised--"

"Then we kissed. On the lips. Several times."

Jihyo's jaw dropped. "Oh my god, Mina. You what? When? How?"

"Near the bathrooms, just as we were about to leave. No one was there, don't worry. And I say we kissed, but it was more me... kissing Chaeyoung. And she just received it. That's what I mean when I say I got greedy. When we finished, her expression immediately plunged me in an icy lake of guilt. Her face told me she wanted to be anywhere else but with me, and she squirmed out of my embrace. She squirmed, Jihyo!"

"Daebak... And you wonder why things are awkward between you?"

"But that's just the thing," said Mina, drumming her feet on the pavement. "That's the thing, Jihyo. After that, Chaeng became really aggressive. She would find me and kiss me whenever we got the chance. In the dorms, in changing rooms, anywhere private and secluded she practically pounced on me. It was scary how nonverbal and routine it was. I can't believe I'm even telling you this, since we tried so hard to keep it a secret for most of that year, but we were in a honeymoon sort of mode."

"I'll keep the two of you in mind the next time we play Mafia. The rest of us knew you two had a thing, but kissing behind our backs? Truly next-level. I don't even know what to say to you."

"I trust you not to tell anyone about this. But that's how it was. That's really how it was. Until, well... It wasn't."

"What changed?"

"I think it was during the Signal promotions. Chaeyoung wrote that song, you know? That super cheesy, super cute song. A lot of fans correctly guessed that it was intended for me. That was definitely when the kissing stopped, at least."

"I remember thinking it was pre-confession," said Jihyo. "Like Chaeng was about to make a move. I was too busy playing Cupid. If only I had known that you guys have been at it since January. Phew. Hang in there, Past-Jihyo. But why did the kissing stop? You'd think it would skyrocket from there."

"No reason," said Mina. "No reason at all. At least, we didn't bring it up. Chaeng was still affectionate with me, but it was clear we had set some unspoken rules. I thought it was because of how tired we all were at the time. Signal was such a roller coaster of activity for everyone."

"A Twicecoaster, some might say. Sorry. Bad joke. Go on."

"Then it came to the point she wasn't being affectionate with me at all. I kept thinking that she was taking a break from me, that maybe she thought she came on too strong, all sorts of things. I was busy, too, so I didn't dwell too much on it. And it's not like she was being completely cold. She would say hi to me, give me little hugs, converse with me about trivial things. But It was all friendly. Then we had a comeback. And another comeback. And another... That was when I finally realized. She only paid attention to me when a camera was involved."

"As if she were keeping appearances, right?"

"Do you remember KCON LA? That whole Michaeng thing? She played it up, but she didn't actually speak to me much at all in that trip. It was the first time I felt truly alienated from her. And, as if she could feel the tension, as if she noticed what it was she was doing, she just... started talking to me again. While we were in Japan."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. Out of obligation, almost. That's what it felt like. Like trying to keep a work relationship afloat. But it's not the same as it was before. And I have this pit in my stomach, like... Did things get out of hand? Will we ever go back to what we were before? I don't even care if we don't share a romantic moment ever again. Can we get our friendship back?"

"Mina," said Jihyo, squeezing the other's hand. "Are you really fine if you never kiss her again?"

"Of course it would be nice to go back to that," said Mina. "But if there's a chance I made her unhappy, then I'd take all the kisses back." 

Jihyo smiled at her. "I have to tell you a story that relates to this. But you have to promise to keep it a secret. If word gets out, it'll just make the other girl look bad."

Mina straightened up, and looked at Jihyo with some concern.

"To tell the truth," said Jihyo. "Back in the trainee years, we had a lot of amazing vocals in the company. But only a handful of us stood out. It made competition really intense, especially around the Sixteen tryouts. There was Minyoung, Jiwon, even Jeongyeon. So many powerhouse teens. But for Nayeon, only I stood out. And it annoyed the hell out of her."

"Nayeon? Do you mean...?"

"Nayeon was a bully, though I think most of the time she didn't realize it. She made me feel bad about my voice, my weight, even the way I carried myself. I sponged up most of the toxicity, but we still got into a lot of fights. But the wildest thing about it? She had a crush on me the entire time. Her true feelings came out when we were writing about other trainees during the filming of Sixteen. She told me that when PD-nim was talking about integrity in members, she realized her feelings about me that she had, I guess, pent up for years and years. She was on the verge of tears. Can you imagine? Bullying the person you're in love with? That's so Nayeon. In her own words, everything she hated about me was her projecting her own insecurities about not debuting, and being showed up by who she felt was the most talented and most-likely-to-succeed out of all of us. It was a front for her own feelings for me. The kissing happened after our first MV came out."

"Jihyo..."

"Sorry. Am I crying? I didn't mean to. These eyes of mine have a tendency to act on their own. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me aside from my own family or producers. Up to that point, I thought everything was a battle between us trainees. A battle to succeed in the entertainment biz, to show off, to kick other talented, beautiful girls down. At that moment, I thought that Nayeon really did think like her age, that she came to a very mature conclusion after her initial immaturity. It was moving, it inspired me to do more. And you know what? I loved her too. I loved her stupid smile and her stupid forehead and her stupid confidence."

Mina couldn't help but giggle. "Wait, though. Is there no love between you guys now?"

"Oh, it's still there. We're just sitting on it. And we don't kiss like we used to. I guess we're just very professional, Nayeon and I. It's really quite funny. Our careers as singers are important to us, to the point we can put love off for years. And, if we're being honest, the two of us may have feelings for Jeongyeon, too. Don't look so surprised. Anything can happen among nine girls who have been singing about love all their lives. The point I'm trying to make is that communication is important. Have you ever fully admitted your feelings for Chaeng? Has she done that for you? This is something you have to talk about."

"I..." Mina stood up and stood in that unattractive, penguin-like way of hers. "I don't know if it's that simple."

"It is truly that simple. And admit it. It's something you've never tried, right?"

"It's just that. Well, I'm quiet. It's hard for me."

"We're all quiet," said Jihyo. "Except Sana. That girl was born wild. But even Sana gets nonverbal, we've all seen it. Chaeng is quiet in her own way, too. Something tells me she's not used to expressing her feelings."

"I've seen it before, though."

"Seen what?"

"Chaeng expressing her feelings verbally. It was when I did Swan Lake in our trainee years. Remember that? It was awkward for me. I was totally new, and PD-nim didn't even know I existed. It was just a performance for the trainees and some of the staff. But after that, Chaeyoung came up to me and said something. My Korean wasn't very good then, but I'm almost positive she told me I was beautiful. Well, she ran when she said it."

"I see. Look at me, Mina."

Mina looked at Jihyo. Mina always thought Jihyo was stunning, but the look of the other girl's eyes made her throat dry up. The internet always seemed to be going on about the sparkling quality of her own eyes, but Mina thought that Jihyo was very underrated in that respect. Jihyo's eyes were like diamonds being formed, glinting out of the dark coal of her pupils, showing more of their facets as you looked. 

"I want you to promise me two things, Mina," said Jihyo. "First of all, don't freak out. Breathe. And take your time. Just think of this like gymnastics. You've practiced hard to get to this point. Secondly, just talk. Talk until you get to the root of the problem. Good luck."

Mina was about to ask her what she was talking about, until she saw that Jihyo had shifted to something over her shoulder.

Chaeyoung, Dahyun and Tzuyu were walking down the street with another of their managers following closely behind. Mina gulped. 

"Dahyun-ah! Tzuyu-ah!" Jihyo waved the trio over. "Just the girls I wanted to see. Where have you been?"

"We just went to get some batteries," said Chaeyoung, waving back. "What's up?"

"I just need some help cooking ramyeon. You girls up for it?"

"Absolutely," said Dahyun. "What's the occasion?" 

"No occasion. Mina bought some at the convenience store for everyone! How... convenient. Right, Mina?"

"Thank you," said the trio in unison.

"You're so kind, Mina-unnie," said Chaeyoung, beaming at her. "Where's the ramyeon at?"

"Ah, Chaeng, you can relax," said Jihyo. "Me and the babies ("But I'm older than Chaeyoung!") can take care of the cooking. It'll be a little crowded with four, and I want Mina to relax, since she used her money and all. Just keep yourselves company. The girls should all be home soon. Can the two of you wait up for them?"

Mina saw Chaeyoung visibly hesitate, a sort of full-body tensing, before speaking. "Sure," she said. "When do you think they'll be back?"

"Mmm," Jihyo glanced at her phone. "Shouldn't be more than thirty minutes. I'd tell you to come inside because it's getting cold, but I'm worried about the others. They might need extra hands when they come back. Is it okay?"

"It's fine with me," said Mina, not without some hesitation of her own.

"Good," said Jihyo. "Sit right here, Chaeyoung. Penguins should huddle together when the weather gets extreme, right? I'm just joking, Mina. We'll all be upstairs. Come on, girls."

The two of them watched as Jihyo, followed by Dahyun and Tzuyu, ascended the staircase to their dorms. Jihyo looked back and met Mina's gaze. She clenched her fist, and nodded, before walking out of their sight.

Chaeyoung turned to Mina. "Hi," she said. "Ramyeon, huh? Perfect weather for it."


	2. are we honest with each other, unnie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weh. this chapter ended up a lot more angsty than originally intended. i had to stop myself from saying too much and getting lost in expression... hope you enjoy it!

Mina looked down at her hands, which had grown numb with the cold. In her rush to get to the convenience store, aside from a pot of boiling water, she had also forgotten her gloves. Just how distracted had she become these past few years? She curled her fingers and exhaled warm air on them. Her mind was in a fog, thinking fog things.

There was a period in Mina’s childhood where she had to take care of herself. Her brother seemed to always be at practice, and her parents had their own jobs, so she found herself alone for long stretches of time every day. Even the routine of ballet class possessed its own signature stillness. Everything felt mechanical, as cold and static as an overcast day. For a moment, she was nine again, quietly wishing the fog would come down and take her away from everything. She willed for something to change. Anything. So she ended up in Korea, bringing all the cold and static with her, like so much cluttered luggage.

Mina couldn’t pinpoint a moment in time when things started to change for her, but she was sure that Chaeyoung was central to it. The other Japanese girls grounded her, but it was Chaeyoung who broke through the shell of uncertainty that Mina had spent years cultivating. Here was a girl who was so similar to her, except where Mina was black and white, Chaeyoung was every color of the rainbow. It confused her. Everything that Chaeyoung did was magnified in her eyes, and intimidation soon became attraction. Though she became enamored over the years, Mina couldn’t help but feel that her heart was still somehow closed. Did they drift apart because Chaeyoung sensed this?

She felt something fall into her palm. A hand warmer.

“Thought you looked a little chilly,” said Chaeyoung. “I’ve been carrying these around a lot lately.”

“Your hands do get cold quickly,” said Mina, shaking the little packet. Her eyes fell on the other girl’s legs. Chaeng really did look good in stockings and boots. Mina always thought she looked good in French street fashion. Wasn’t this the jacket she wore to Switzerland? Seeing it thrown on so casually over her pajama shirt for a nighttime excursion was very charming to her. Her lips... They were opened in that natural pout that Chaeng had when she was relaxed. Mina was reminded of how she looked at the camera in the Wake Me Up MV, a curious and pure expression. Much like a puppy’s...

“Unnie? Do I look funny?”

“Uh, no! Not at all.”

“Ah.”

Mina pressed her thumbs into the hand warmer. Oh, god. This was so awkward.

After awhile, Chaeyoung said, “Why do I feel like we haven’t talked in ages?”

Mina turned to her. Chaeyoung’s eyes flickered, and she giggled. “Gosh, I sound so serious. I mean, I know we’ve been busy, but I talk like I haven’t seen you in years.”

“We haven’t seen each other,” said Mina. “In years, I mean. We really haven’t. I don’t know what to do about it, and it’s really getting to me.”

Chaeng’s eyes flashed with a mixture of fear and confusion. “Oh, wow. I really brought down the mood just now, didn’t I?”

“No, no. It was me. God, I made this so dramatic, but I really didn’t mean to.”

“I guess we were both thinking about it.”

Mina closed her eyes. She could be thrown into space at that moment and wouldn’t care. She’d just freeze up and burst into a million pieces without a word. At least in space, she wouldn’t have to feel absolutely embarrassed in front of her.

“I’m sorry that I like you so much.”

Mina caught her breath. “What?”

Chaeyoung looked at the ground, as if she was expecting for something to pop up out of the cracks in the road. “Ugh, I sound like I’m in a drama or something. But I really am sincere. Loving you is the weirdest and best thing that has ever happened to me. And I’d like to thank you for indulging me all this time. That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Excuse me, Chaengie, but what are you talking about?”

The two girls blinked at each other.

“Ah,” said Chaeyoung, turning pink. “Was this not about that?”

“No, it’s definitely about that. But I’m a little confused right now. Not to mention irritated. What does any of this have to do with you not being around me for almost a year? To put it bluntly, why have you been avoiding me?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you, have I?”

Mina wanted to slap her. “Son Chaeyoung, if you like me so much, why don’t we kiss anymore?”

If it was possible for Chaeyoung to get any redder, she would have turned into ketchup. “But I…”

The realization dawned on Mina, and she shrunk her head into her scarf. “Sorry.”

“Sorry!”

“I…”

“Me too!”

“Ah.”

Mina swore she could hear a crow in the distance.

“If I understood that correctly,” said Chaeyoung, clearly weighing her words. “Did what you say meant that you cared that we stopped kissing?”

“I did. If you have an explanation, I want to hear it from your point of view. I won’t judge you. Just start from the beginning. The beginning of us, as told from your perspective.”

Chaeyoung exhaled slowly. “Okay. I wanted to be an idol. All of us did, right? Ever since I could try out for companies, I’ve been chasing this dream. It’s only in recent years that I’ve wanted more out of that. It was childish at first, wanting to achieve more than the others around me, wanting to be the young “it girl” that everyone could look up to. I guess it was around that time that I noticed you. You were somehow so… beautiful. And new. Oh my gosh, I can’t look at you. Can we sit back to back?”

“Sure, if that’ll help you,” said Mina, feeling her own heart pound fast. 

“It was admiration that became a crush that became… much more. I didn’t think it was possible to love another girl, to be honest. We were all young and chasing our dreams. The world felt just about that big, and there was nothing else. But there I was, pursuing something I couldn’t even wrap my head around.”

“I understand that. I often wondered why I came to Korea. I was leaving the familiar world behind, the world of dance and family and friends, for something completely alien. I was attracted, but I didn’t fully understand why until later. I just kept moving.”

“Yeah. And when I understood what it was I was doing, it paralyzed me. I always heard about gayness in joking terms growing up, but I didn’t realize the gravity of it, how significant it was in society, and what society generally thought of it. It started off small, too. I wanted to impress you, so I took every chance I could get to show off and talk to you. It didn’t help that you were popular with all the boys. Once or twice, I even told myself that I was jealous of the attention you got, when really I wanted you to look at me and praise me.”

“Fast forward to debut,” continued Chaeyoung. “I liked playing the Michaeng card because I felt like it allowed us to be around each other more, which turned out to be true. But at that time, I finally entered the real world, and Twice burst into the limelight in ways we never could’ve predicted. And it was… scary, to say the least. It was like I was trained, but I wasn’t truly prepared. None of us were. I developed a slight phobia of cameras and people watching my every move. It helped that Dahyun could point out to me where we were being shot from most of the time. But that first few years with the group distracted me from my hormones for a bit. I kept my feelings pent up. Until the day I didn’t.”

“If you’re talking about ISAC, Chaeyoung, I want to know how you felt.”

“You mean when we kissed? Again, it started with wanting to support you. I didn’t even realize how much I’ve fallen for you by that point. When you won, I was ecstatic. I wanted to cuddle you, to hold you and to celebrate your victory, but it was strange. I wanted to be in a world of our own, you know? I didn’t want to do it friend to friend. I wanted our own private space, our private time. As if it was our victory, not just yours. And just like that, as if some god wrote it into being, you gave me my wish, and... I don’t know. It scared me.”

“Chaeng. I don’t know what to say... I’m sorry that I was so forward.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, Mina-unnie. I was really happy. But I was confused. I had never kissed anyone before, and I only vaguely knew what it was like to be a woman who loves women. It was like debut, all over again. The cold water I waded into chilled me to my core. I felt unprepared. Lost. I didn’t feel like I was enough. And it felt like… please don’t hate me, but it felt like you were only seeking one moment of happiness with me, and I just had to treasure it because it would never come again.”

Mina was about to playfully scold Chaeyoung for thinking that way, but realized how vulnerable the girl’s voice sounded, and stopped herself. Instead, she reached the hand with the warmer in it out to Chaeyoung’s and rested it there, giving heat to them both.

“But, like. I was selfish. I wanted things to stabilize. So I ignored my doubts, and for the first time in my life I felt deeply, like I’ve never felt any feeling before. Knowing that I could be loved by you was the battery that kept me going through even the toughest times. That was the illusion I had fallen into; that we could be together, if I just exerted myself. If I barraged you with my feelings, maybe you’d stay.”

“So why did you stop?”

“When my feelings peaked for you, I realized something I thought was important. I was running ahead of everyone else. You know what I mean? The girls were still busy realizing their dreams, but I was realizing my dream at the expense of someone else. I felt like I was smothering you, forbidding you from becoming the best you can be, and I thought: hey, maybe Minari feels the same way? Like you can’t realize your dream if I’m there weighing you down, but you tolerate me anyway because you’re just nice like that. Deep down, I knew I was feeding on my own negativity, but the doubts in me spread. It scared me how much people paid attention to the two of us, and I realized that we could be in a lot of trouble if anyone ever found out. I took more than I gave, and I realized I could hurt you in the process. I could hurt the group! So many things weighed against my own desires. So I stopped. And when you thrived, I took it as a sign that I did the right thing.”

“You did do the right thing,” said Mina. “You thought about how I felt, and that's important. But you went about it the wrong way. You should have asked me. We could have talked about it. I would’ve kissed you until you no longer had any doubts. Your love, the girls’ love, it’s what keeps me going. That’s the real reason I thrived. Something like a few kisses would never get me down, even if the world found out. If anything, it would make me more powerful, especially if it was you that did the kissing.”

“Wh-what?” said Chaeyoung. “Then why have you been silent about this the whole time? I really felt like you forgot about me. I did all that fanservice believing you didn't like it.”

“No, no, no,” said Mina. “How could I think that? I just… I don’t know. I didn’t want to get in your way. We were busy and tired and too polite.”

There was something between them in that silence. Mina felt like the fog really did come down and envelop them in its grays and whites. But it was warm. The warmest she's been all night.

“Wow. Ahem. I guess we really screwed this up for both of us, didn’t we?”

“I guess so,” said Mina. “Then let me make it simple for you. Do you like me? You have two choices. Yes, or yes.”

“That was… lame. But I do like you, Myoui Mina.”

Chaeyoung had curled up into a ball in complete embarrassment. Mina turned and draped her body over Chaeyoung’s, planting a kiss on her neck.

“I guess I like you too, Son Chaeyoung.”

“Does that make us girlfriends?”

“Yes.”

“And I can kiss you whenever I want?”

“Yes.”

-

By the time the girls found them, Chaeyoung and Mina were curled rather intimately into each other, giggling and gazing into each other’s eyes. When they eventually realized they were being filmed by Sana, both of them got up and protested.

“Sana-unnie, that’s really not cool,” said Chaeyoung.

Jihyo came down from the dorms, as if on cue.

“Everyone inside! It’s ramyeon night! Thank Mina later. Go on, get inside. Listen to your leader, girls.”

Despite some very wicked antics from Jeongyeon and Sana, the girls managed to get up the stairs peacefully. Still laughing, Jeongyeon turned to look at Nayeon and Jihyo who remained at the bottom.

“Geez,” said Jeongyeon. “What’s with this atmosphere? I’d like to hear more about it later, Jihyo. You seem to know everything. After ramyeon.”

When she had gone, Nayeon turned to look at Jihyo, narrowing her eyes. “I can’t believe your plan really worked.”

“That’s why I’m the leader.”

“What exactly happened?”

“Nothing. They just talked.”

“So they were honest with their feelings, huh? Big leap for our shy girls.”

Jihyo pulled Nayeon in for a deep hug, nuzzling her head into the girl’s neck. “Are we honest with each other, unnie?”

“Ew,” said Nayeon. “I hate it when you act cute.” Despite that, Nayeon found herself stroking Jihyo’s hair. 

“Admit that you missed this.”

“I’ll admit it if you give me a quick kiss. But hurry, I really think this particular curb has been haunted by Twice too long.”

“You act like I’ll just give you one.”

“Ack! Stop it, Jihyo.”

The rest of the night passed like this.

**Author's Note:**

> final chapter to come. thanks for reading!


End file.
